Searchers Seek Clues, Not Survivors From Outset, Nasa Held Out Little Hope

January 29, 1986|By John J. Glisch and Lynne Bumpus-Hooper of The Sentinel Staff

CAPE CANAVERAL — An armada of ships, planes and helicopters on a futile rescue mission converged off Cape Canaveral within minutes after the space shuttle exploded. The search, coordinated by the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami, was centered 30 miles south-southeast of the Cape and began at 1:15 p.m. Officials said it was delayed more than an hour while debris from Challenger pelted the ocean's surface. During that hour, it was determined there was no contamination from hazardous chemicals from the shuttle's fuel.

From the start, officials held out little hope that any of the seven crew members had survived.

''In this scenario, they have no escape,'' said Lt. Col. James Bogart, a member of the contingency support team.

There were no ejection seats in the Challenger. The seats were removed from shuttles in 1981 after the first two test flights of Columbia because they took up too much space. NASA officials said ejection seats would not have helped in this instance.

But like all American space vehicles, shuttles are wired with explosive devices so they can be destroyed by ground command if a major failure sends them veering out of control over populated areas.

Jess Parrish Memorial Hospital in Titusville was supposed to be the first stop for any injured astronauts. But the hospital was never placed on alert because NASA ''informed us they wouldn't need us'' within five minutes of the explosion, said administrator Richard Lind.

The search was initiated by the Defense Department, which manages a contingency support and rescue team that went into action after the explosion. The focus of the operation quickly switched from rescuing survivors to retrieving debris scattered over a 1,200-square-mile section of the Atlantic. Officials said the debris will be crucial in piecing together the cause of the explosion that brought the 25th shuttle mission to its tragic end.

First reports indicated the debris was mostly in small chunks, except for a 6-by-12-foot piece that was attached to a parachute.

Officials speculated the object might be part of a solid rocket booster. Two are used to push the shuttle into orbit.

''Anything they pick up may help reconstruct the problem,'' said Don Engel, a spokesman at Patrick Air Force Base.

Debris will be brought to a Navy facility at Port Canaveral and then turned over to NASA, officials said.

Aircraft flying in grid patterns spotted debris and directed ships to specific locations where crewmen tried to haul it on board.

The air search was called off at dark but ships continued to patrol the waters throughout the night. Officials said the air search would resume at dawn.

Normally, the Coast Guard has an 82-foot cutter, the Point Roberts, and two 41-foot ships patrolling the waters off Kennedy Space Center during launches to keep unauthorized vessels out of the downrange security zone.

The Air Force keeps three H-3 helicopters on the ground in a state of alert to participate in possible search and rescue missions if a shuttle flight is forced down over the sea.

After the explosion, the U.S. Coast Guard immediately dispatched the cutters Dauntless and Dallas from South Florida along with two H-3 helicopters and a C-130 fixed wing aircraft.

The Air Force sent two of its H-3 helicopters to the scene, while the Navy ordered the guided missile frigates USS Underwood and USS Aubry Fitch to join the search.